Columbus East’s Zach Foster (2) and Brody Miller (6) tackle Jennings County’s Brandan McCory during a football game Friday at Columbus East High School.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Following the graduation of two-year starter Ethan Duncan, Zach Foster had designs of becoming the next quarterback at Columbus East.
That goal didn’t come to fruition for Foster last year, when then-sophomore Kyson Villarreal beat him out for the starting job. But Foster didn’t fade into obscurity, and he certainly didn’t let it get him down.
So last year, Foster moved over to the defensive side of the ball and landed a role as a starting cornerback as a junior. This year, he’s made a huge progression.
“I was definitely bummed out when I didn’t get quarterback, but at the same time, you have to put it in the past, and I knew that I could help out on the defensive side,” Foster said. “So I just had to put my mind to it, and that’s what I did. I just took on the challenge and had a great mindset through the whole thing. I definitely had to learn the coverages and get better on footwork, but other than that, it was pretty easy.”
Zach Foster
This season, Foster leads the Olympians and ranks in the top 10 in the state with three interceptions. He has been covering the opposing teams’ top receivers.
“I told my coaches going into the season I wanted to guard the best receiver every game if possible, follow him around wherever he goes, and that could change the game,” Foster said. “You have to watch a lot of film. You can cut their playbook down if you just know what they’re going to do, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m just making good breaks on balls.”
“He’s doing great,” East coach Eddie Vogel added. “He really was battling out for quarterback last year with Kyson. Kyson kind of took that over, and we asked Zach — he’s a great athlete — and we said, ‘Hey man, you can help our team, and he really bought in to what we’ve done. He took over that cornerback role, and he’s done a good job back there leading our secondary. He has a nose for the football.”
Foster has put on 10 pounds since last season and has grown to 6-foot, 170 pounds. He ranks second on the Olympians with 6.3 tackles per game.
“We knew that he was going to mature a little bit more because he was still kind of baby-faced,” Vogel said. “We knew he was going to get bigger and taller and stronger, and he’s done that. He was chosen as a captain by his teammates, so that says a lot.”
Foster, whose two older sisters have played college softball, is hoping to continue his football career at the collegiate level. He has an offer from Mount St. Joseph and plans to visit the Cincinnati school for its game on Saturday.
Meanwhile, East has won two in a row after dropping its first two games of the season. The Olympians are 2-0 in the Hoosier Hills Conference with key matchups at New Albany and Floyd Central the next two Fridays.
“We started off slow definitely, but we’re gaining a lot of momentum, and if we keep on playing like this, we have a real good shot to do great this season,” Foster said. “We’re on a great run. Our practices have been great. Our team is playing together. We’ve built a brotherhood, and I think we can keep this momentum going and the season will be great from here on out.”
